When I learned about Page A Day Math with the Math Squad, I was instantly intrigued and wanted to know more. Now, I am excited to have the opportunity to review the curriculum and bring it to all of my readers. So keep reading to find out how to get the first book in any series FREE to try from Page A Day Math!
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What is Page A Day Math with the Math Squad
This open-and-go curriculum, designed to teach math facts and handwriting, is so simple and yet delivers tremendous value. The curriculum is geared for ages 3 to 9. And you choose which series you want your child to work on, from:
- math handwriting,
- counting,
- addition,
- subtraction,
- multiplication, and
- division.
Each series includes 10-13 books for your child to work through—one page, front and back—each day. At that rate, each book will last approximately two weeks. Then your child earns a completion certificate, the satisfaction of completing an entire book, and moves on to the next book in the series. An entire series is designed to last 140 days, the course of a typical school year.
Page A Day Math is also perfect for independent learning. For many children, you can simply hand them one of the just-the-right-size-for-kids books and turn them loose. There is very little instruction and no preparation. The product developer suggests checking work and having your child correct any mistakes at the end of each session, which I agree is critical.
The books get progressively more difficult as the child works through learning their math facts. One new math fact is introduced each day and previous ones are practiced. This incremental and cumulative learning adds up fast! A series will have from 3-6,000 math exercises!
It Builds Self-Confidence with Math
The Math Squad
My favorite part of the curriculum is the Math Squad. This team of adorable dogs encourages your child on every single page that they, too, can be a Math Star! I have never seen a curriculum that was so positive and encouraging.
Strategic and well-placed use of incentives and positive reinforcement is exactly what a struggling or uncertain math student needs. The Math Squad is what makes Page A Day Math truly unique from the hundreds of other math products I have seen.
Fun and Encouraging Features
There are so many things that my kids loved about these books! Some of the fun features are:
- completion stars to color at the end of every page (one for each day they’ve worked on a book),
- positive reinforcement from the Math Squad on every page,
- fun dog facts or dog jokes in each book,
- a completion certificate at the end of every book,
- a progress tracking chart to show what series they’re on and what comes next.
It Teaches Math Facts and Handwriting
How a Lesson Works
Let me walk you through a typical lesson from the Addition & Counting Series – Book 1 – Lesson 7.
First, a single new math fact is introduced (5+1=6) and the child is prompted to count it out as it is demonstrated visually (with cute little dog bones). The next step is the learn step, where the fact is displayed in cardinal numbers for the child to read. After that, the child traces the fact, and then copies it on their own with helpful handwriting grids.
Next, the child practices 24 more math facts (in this particular lesson – amounts may vary) that are a combination of:
- the new math fact they just learned,
- the new math fact in its reverse,
- previously learned math facts for review.
And at the very end of the day’s lesson, there are stars to color—one for each page that the child has completed in that book—in this case, seven. I love that! I think it’s the perfect reward and motivator. And it provides a visual representation of how much the child has accomplished.
What Makes It Unique?
The curriculum is super simple! But here are the really important parts that really set Page A Day Math apart.
- Each exercise prompts the child to trace the entire math fact before writing the answer. This is crucial to committing the fact to memory and automating the process. (More on that later.) I prefer this soooooo much over standard math books that only have them write the answer.
- It teaches proper handwriting! Through the repetition of tracing the math facts and using the grids to form the answer, the child is developing their handwriting skills. I do not even have to tell you the value that this adds. Most handwriting curricula include numbers summarily. But there is rarely a sustained focus on perfecting them. This often leaves children deficient in number handwriting skills. Page A Day Math fills that need perfectly.
It’s Compatible with Classical Education
We use primarily a classical education style. There are several features of Page A Day Math that would be appealing to anyone using the style.
- Memorization of math facts. I’m sure this one already jumped out at you. In the grammar stage (first through fourth grades), committing math facts to memory is a central part of a classical education. There are several reasons why:
- It is what their minds are primed to do at this age. They are little sponges and love to soak up information. Most young children consider repetition to be fun and enjoy memorizing and reciting.
- It automates the process of solving simple math problems to prepare for higher-level work. A child who has not mastered basic math facts can get bogged down mentally when asked to perform more complicated exercises later. Committing these simple facts to memory frees up their thought process for more advanced reasoning later and saves them time!
- Incremental learning and mastery through repetition. I prefer the spiral approach to learning math. These books are consistent with that—building mastery of concepts through repeated review of older concepts while, at the same time, slowly introducing new ones.
- A focus on handwriting. As I said before, it is hard to find a handwriting curriculum that gives proper attention to numbers. I believe handwriting is a crucial skill, even in this day and age of technology. This is especially true with math since it is very easy to make 6’s look like 0’s or 7’s look like 1’s. Poor penmanship could easily cost your child a correct answer! Handwriting is a skill that will translate to every single other subject and benefit your child for life.
How We Used It
Finding Page A Day Math was perfect timing for me because I hadn’t been able to find a math curriculum to my liking for my PreK’r. So I decided to check out the very first series, Math Handwriting Introduction for ages 3-5. Book 1 in the series begins at the very beginning—tracing addition equations that add 1 to 0-10.
Getting Ready to Start
The book begins with the entire Math Squad telling my little girl how everyone from firefighters to scientists use addition and how we need it to do so many things . . . like bake cookies! Next, there is a brief “How to Use This Book” page. No instructor’s manual here. It was designed to be open-and-go and intuitive for both parent and child.
Then Mo from the Math Squad invites her to be a Math Squad Super Hero too! These dogs are so cute and encouraging. Definitely my favorite part of the curriculum! There is a place here for the child to write their name in the book. My little girl loved that! I think the feeling of ownership over the process is important to her enthusiasm and pride in her work. This isn’t a “school book”. This is her book.
The First Lesson
After that you are right into Day 1—tracing 0’s, 1’s, and 2’s, and tracing the addition facts 1 + 0 = 1 and 0 + 1 = 1. In this book, most of the answers are provided for the child to trace (except for a couple at the end of the lesson where they are invited to try the answer on their own). This series, after all, is focused on math handwriting more than on addition.
TIPS:
Although the intuitive design allows you to let your child work independently, I would suggest for the very young, like my girl, you at least be there to peek over their shoulder and ensure they’re forming numbers in the correct directions. This is so they don’t develop any poor penmanship habits in the very beginning. More established students would be able to work completely on their own!- I used this along with our math manipulatives to reinforce the addition fact she was practicing. I would say that Page A Day Math is both great on its own and not too much to use as a supplement with any other math curriculum you may have.
What My Daughter Thought
From the Math Squad dogs, to writing her name in it, to getting to color the stars—she has loved every part. And she’s asked me to “read” them to her over and over again because she loves the encouraging things the Math Squad tells her. Plus now she tells dog jokes to everyone she sees.
But in all seriousness, this has improved her number sense and handwriting skills in just the short time we have been using the curriculum. She doesn’t even think of this as “doing school”. In fact, we have a house rule—for the sake of parental sanity—that all activities after dinnertime must be quiet ones. And my three-year-old has chosen to grab her Page A Day Math books and work in them every evening this week. It is definitely a winner for us!
Try It Yourself!
Page A Day Math with the Math Squad is available as hard copy books or downloads. And, for a limited time*, Page A Day Math is generously offering my readers the first book in 9 different series FREE! That’s 9 books (over a $60 value) for you to try free of charge to see how they work for your child.
Simply:
- visit Page A Day Math’s website,
- fill up your cart, and
- use the code MERCERHOME at checkout.
[[NOTE: You will be prompted to enter your address. But no payment information is required after you entire the code.]]
* This offer is good through 9.30.18. But, after that, you can still get their regular offer of 1 free book using the code on their site.
This incredible offer gives you such a great opportunity to see which series is best for your child by trying them all. Then if you and your child love Page A Day Math as much as me and mine, simply order the rest of your favorite series.
Keep in mind that you are trying the first book, so it’s the easiest one. When you purchase an entire series, containing a total of 10-13 books, the difficulty level will gradually increase.
ALSO! Hop over to Page A Day Math’s Facebook group—Math Skills for Success. This group is “For parents, grandparents, teachers, home school families and anyone who wants the best for their kids and believe that math skills are one of the most important academic skills to ensure a successful future.” And you will find more special offers there!
And don’t forget to subscribe to Mercer Homeschooling for the latest homeschooling resources and encouragement – and more offers like this!
